October 29

A Perfect Day on the River

No food pictures for today - we were too busy.  We arranged to paddle with friends on the beautiful Mokulumne River.  If anybody wants to see some pictures of the day, our friend Jim took photos here.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimsnyder/sets/72157628008047404/show/  One of the great things about this lifestyle is enjoying our physical health.  Tomorrow we will be rolling in the whitewater near Lotus, Ca.

Another great thing is sharing our lifestyle with others.  Pictured above is our friend Penny, a veterinarian, horsewoman, scrapping enthusiast, and sometime paddler.  We noticed that Penny was not paddling this summer and asked her why.  She told us that she had been diagnosed with heart disease, was having too much chest pain, and was scheduled for heart surgery.  Of course, I was not going to let that go without telling her about Dr. Esselstyn and Dr. McDougall.  She was interested, and we had Penny and her husband over for lunch and watched some DVDs.

It was August 1 that Penny decided to try the diet, and she is so happy and grateful that she did.  She no longer experiences any chest pains, her surgery is cancelled, and she is back paddling, riding, and enjoying life again.  She has lost 20 pounds and has 20 pounds to go.  She is feeling so much better all around that she can't believe it, and loves the food.  She had no transitions symptoms either - lucky girl.  Just like us, her husband joined in and has lost 33 pounds already himself.  It was so much fun to see how much Penny was enjoying her reclaimed health.  She has even helped some of her staff at her office to improve their health and diet.  Way to go Penny!

As for our food, Farley got up early and made a salad to go into Bento boxes.  Cubed Japanese sweet potatoes, white beans, rice, chopped bell pepper, with a Dijon/balsamic dressing.  When we got home, we ate the leftovers with leftover chili over greens and rice.  We had a dinner party to go to also.  We ate nothing, but take a demerit or two for a few tastes of wine.